It was ranked alongside Russia, India and China as an emerging global economic powerhouse but now the pillaging of Brazil’s natural resources, corruption at the highest levels and a crippling drought is threatening that status

There was a record 1,816 cases of euthanasia in 2013, the equivalent of about five deaths a day, official statistics show. The latest figures show that the number of deaths rose by more than a quarter (27 per cent) over the previous year.

Government agents in the Democratic Republic of Congo rape and sexually abuse women in religious organisations to punish them for being politically active, the charity Freedom from Torture has revealed.